American actor James Spader has been acting in films for more than 35 years, during which time he has played more than forty different roles. His characters grew up with him, the plots and acting techniques changed, but James always remained true to himself, each time creating images one more interesting than the other.
This work has resulted in awards: several Emmy Awards for Best Actor in Boston Lawyers and The Practice, as well as a Silver Award for Best Actor in Sex, Lies and Videos in Cannes.
James Spader was born in 1960 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Spader family had three children - James had two more older sisters. Therefore, he sometimes jokes that all his life he lived in an atmosphere of female dictatorship.
James's parents were teachers, so he grew up an intelligent boy. The Spader family moved frequently, but their parents were always there - they worked in the same schools where their children studied. Therefore, it is difficult to say in which school the future actor received his secondary education.
One can only assume that in his youth he was very determined, because he left the elite Phillips school in Andover, before finishing his 11th grade. James went to New York and enrolled in acting classes.
Life was not easy for him at that time: in order to raise funds for a living, the young man worked as a bartender, yoga teacher, loader, groom and truck driver. It seems that this experience helped him a lot in the future, when he had to play the roles of various men.
Film career
Spader's first role came when he was only 18 years old - it was the film "Teammates". And two years later he played in the film "Endless Love", where the famous Tom Cruise also starred.
Two years later, James received two proposals for filming at once, and he played the main role in the drama "Wall to Wall", which could be watched on video in the USSR.
And the role of a handsome playboy in the film "The Girl in Pink" brought him the "glory" of a spoiled insolent man. This did not in any way agree with the character of the actor himself, but you cannot argue with the audience. There was only one thing that made me happy: the role was a success.
In 1987, Spader portrayed a criminal in the film "Less than Zero", a bore in the film "Mannequin", played minor roles in the films "Baby Boom" and "Wall Street", where he worked on the same set with Michael Douglas and Charlie Shin.
On the threshold of his thirtieth birthday, James was lucky to play the main role in the film, which has become a cult - this is the film "Sex, Lies and Videos". She brought director Stephen Soderbergh not only fame, but also the "Palm" of the Cannes Film Festival, and Spader won the Best Actor prize for his role at this festival.
This film opened up new opportunities in working on a wide variety of roles, because there were a great many proposals to shoot. And shooting in films in the following years simply did not stop for a single day.
Particularly successful can be called the work in the film "Stargate", where Spader played the role of archaeologist Daniel Jackson, fascinated by the mysteries of history. Based on the film, two television films, an animated series, 3 television series, a comic strip and several video games have also been filmed.
The successful actor was also invited to the series, and in 2004 he played the role of lawyer Alan Shore in the television project "Lawyers of Boston", the series was awarded five Emmy awards, Golden Globe and Peabody awards.
With the beginning of the new millennium, James had to part with the role of a handsome heartthrob and move on to more serious roles. In recent years, he starred in the films "The Stone of Desires" (2009), "The Office" (2011), "Lincoln" (2012), "Avengers: Age of Ultron" (2015).
In one interview, Spader said that his job is "his everything." Work and family take up all of his time, and nothing else interests him. Unless there are plans to produce various projects in film and television.
Personal life
After twenty years, James became seriously interested in yoga, even became a teacher. In the gym, he noticed a spectacular girl - Victoria Keel, and tried to get to know her. It was difficult for such a charming young man to refuse, and the young people began an affair, and in 1987 they got married.
James and Victoria lived together for seventeen years, raised two sons, but the marriage broke up.
After some time, James met his longtime sympathy - the actress Leslie Stefanson. They had once starred in The Robbery, and they knew each other well. After this meeting, James and Leslie got married, and in 2008 they had a son.
